the obama administration saw assad as a reformer in the works. then it bet on moscow to play a constructive role. this is the assad who is bombing villages in syria. this is the assad who is ordering teenagers tortured. frankly, he is engaged in murdering his populist. the ancient city is now in ruins. 70,000 syrians are dead. a million refugees has spilled into neighboring countries. destabilizing those countries. there are troubling reports that assad might be moving to unleash chemical weapons. the u.s. has been generous in supporting suffering serious, -- suffering syrians, but perhaps naÏvely so. theas been funneled through un and other international organizations that are restricted to areas controlled by the syrian regime. that is absurd. only recently has the u.s. begun to push food aid directly to the syrian opposition. that shift should accelerate dramatically. i really wonder about providing any humanitarian aid through the un that ends up going to the regime at all. it indirectly helps assad and therefore presumably prolongs the conf